Open AccessRetinal arteriolar parameters as a surrogate marker of intracranial vascular pathology
Author(s) -
Abdelhak Ahmed,
Solomon Isaac,
Montes Shivany Condor,
Saias Alexandra,
Cordano Christian,
Asken Breton,
Fonseca Corrina,
Oertel Frederike Cosima,
Arfanakis Konstantinos,
Staffaroni Adam M.,
Kramer Joel H.,
Geschwind Michael,
Miller Bruce L.,
Elahi Fanny M.,
Green Ari J.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia: diagnosis, assessment and disease monitoring
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.497
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2352-8729
DOI - 10.1002/dad2.12338
Subject(s) - arteriolosclerosis , retinal , pathology , asymptomatic , magnetic resonance imaging , white matter , medicine , cadasil , vascular dementia , cardiology , corpus callosum , neuroimaging , dementia , disease , ophthalmology , radiology , psychiatry
Development of novel diagnostic tools is a top research priority in vascular dementia. A major obstacle is the lack of a simple, non‐invasive method to visualize cerebral arteriolar walls in vivo. Retinal arterioles offer a window into the cerebral circulation. Methods I ntensity‐ b ased r etinal a rteriolar v isualization in o ptical coherence tomography (I‐bRAVO) was applied to evaluate mean wall thickness (MWT) and wall‐to‐lumen ratio (WLR) in 250 subjects with sporadic and genetic cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), non‐vascular neurodegenerative diseases (NVND), and healthy controls (HC) in association with imaging and cognitive markers. Results MWT and WLR were higher in CSVD, associated with severity of vascular white matter lesions, and correlated with magnetic resonance imaging‐based intracranial arteriolosclerosis score. WLR correlated with gray and white matter volume and differentiated asymptomatic sporadic CSVD from HC (area under the curve = 0.82). Discussion I‐bRAVO is a rapid, non‐invasive tool. MWT and WLR were associated with imaging markers of CSVD and could contribute to early identification of sporadic CSVD.